Free Market Road Show 2016: A Time for Change in Europe

On Monday, March 7, 2016 from 4pm to 7pm at Best Western Premier Hotel Slon, Slovenska cesta 34, Ljubljana, Svetilnik proudly kicked off the 9th Free Market Road Show®, in cooperation with Visio Instiute, Austrian Economics Center and over 90 leading think tanks and universities, as well as international partners. The 2016 Free Market Road Show® brought together elected officials, businessmen, academics, public policy experts, diplomats, and other interested parties from across Europe and the world to discuss the kind of Europe its citizens want to develop.

16:15 – 17:15 PANEL 1: TAX HARMONIZATIONEU leaders like Angela Merkel and François Hollande are advocating for EU tax harmonisation. The across-the-board harmonisation of EU countries’ tax systems is not deemed necessary to the extent it would hamper the establishment and functioning of the internal market. However, there are serious tax problems that EU citizens face in cross-border situations, such as discrimination, double taxation, as well as difficulties in claiming tax refunds and obtaining information on foreign tax rules. Questions remain as to: its effects on the common market and local markets; the goods and services for which taxes should be harmonized and those for which, not; how mutual agreements would be reached when the relevant taxes differ greatly country to country. In addition, could harmonization/cooperation of corporate taxes in the EU influence a group of small countries with considerable fiscal competition to consolidate into one big player? Does the European banking union remain incomplete without a harmonization of tax regimes? And how would their role impact local financial decisions?Dr. Dan Mitchell, Cato Institute, USADr. Josef Šíma, Cevro Institute, Czech RepublicMr. Pieter Cleppe, Open Europe, Belgium

Moderator: Mr. Iztok Hočevar, Planet TV, Slovenia

17:15 – 17:45 COFFEE BREAK

17:45 – 18:45 PANEL 2: SHARING ECONOMYOne central argument regarding the sharing economy is whether it simply brings more wage-earning opportunities to more people, or whether it actually effects the displacement of traditionally secure jobs and the creates a land of part-time, low-paid work. Also controversial are sharing economy business cases such as Airbnb, which violates state regulations in such dimensions that it is impossible to sanction them. What is the role of such companies with regard to the power of state vs. business and as to implications on the power of state law? Do sharing economy services provide something closer to free markets with their high level of convenience and usefulness, making strict regulation increasingly difficult? Given the rulings handed down against some sharing economy businesses, will states act against them to the extent that they disappear? Extinguishing new business models in favour of traditional ways of doing things is not necessarily always a good thing.Dr. Robert Murphy, Texas Tech University, USADr. Richard Zundritsch, Austrian Economics Center, Austria

REGISTRATION FEE for the 2016 FMRS LJUBLJANA was 10 euro and included entry to both panels, coffee break, and a copy of Ekonomska svoboda sveta 2016.

The entry to the 2016 FMRS LJUBLJANA was free for JOURNALISTS. Media accreditation was only available to journalists with a press card and/or other appropriate documents (e.g. a letter of assignment from editor-in-chief).